Want to be an artist? Dare to take risks

I took a risk this past weekend and joined my artist brother-in-law Russ Lamer at Art in the Park in South Portland, Maine.

This is Russ and his paintings. He invited (encouraged) me to take the left side of his setup to display some of my art. When it comes to his art, Russ doesn’t hold back on themes, colors, or his imagination. He even comes up with a story for each painting.

The sketches in front are digital drawings that he does with his fingers. People loved them and he sold quite a few. He also sold some of his acrylic paintings, including this one to his friend.

Remember what I said about theme, color, and imagination? Here’s the story Russ made up about this painting, which he called “Oooohhhh I’M COLORFUL”.

Imagine yourself having a dream, waking up and looking in the mirror only to discover that your dream had become reality.

His friend loved the painting and the story.

My painting style is way more subdued and restrained than Russ’ although I am working toward being more loose and expressive. It’s a journey and fortunately one that is fun and rewarding.

I almost backed out of the show because the idea of it was quite scary. Putting yourself out there within earshot of people commenting on your work. Yikes. I’ve got a bold streak though, and even asked one couple what they were saying about one of my paintings. Turns out they were discussing the lighting and color choices I’d made. They liked them and bought the painting. I was thrilled!

I sold two more paintings at the show, which was definitely a confidence booster.

All in all, a good day for both of us, albeit a tiring one. It is A LOT of work getting ready for a show, being there for about eight hours and then breaking it all down at the end of the day. It was also a lot of fun meeting and talking with people and getting to see all the art that other people had made.

Art in the Park was worth taking the risk!